The Imprisoned Mockingjay
by Burning Bunny Books
Summary: Peeta is safe in District 13 and Katniss has been captured by President Snow. Their roles from the original Mockingjay book have been swapped. Now Peeta must fight for the one he loves.
1. Traumatic Tribulation

**Based on the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. I own nothing.**

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_CHAPTER ONE: TRAUMATIC TRIBULATION_

_Peeta's POV_

I was running. I was in the 75th annual Hunger Games and I was running. Sharp vines and plants scraped against my body, but that didn't matter. I just had to get to her before it was too late. _Katniss_. I had to find her. I had to protect her. I had to... I had to... Without warning, a thundering boom pierced my ears, joint with flashes of red and yellow. Before I could process what was happening or try to protect myself, a blazing white light surrounded me, clouding my vision. I could hear nothing but a prolonged, high droning sound. And then nothing.

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"_Katniss!"_ I gasped, bolting upright. Identical beds were all spread throughout the room -me in one of them- with numerous shelves of random medicines and tubes stacked behind them. Was I in a... hospital?

"Mornin' sunshine." My head snapped towards Haymitch, who sat grimly in the corner, sipping some sort of stew. I wanted to ask so many questions, but I didn't know where to start. He glanced at me for a moment, and then nodded to himself solemnly. "We managed to break the force field and flew in with district 13's aircraft. We're actually in district 13 now. You're lucky you were saved. It was a risky plan." Relief began flooding through me and I started feeling jittery to see all of the others that had escaped. I didn't even wonder then about how the rumour that people lived in district 13 was true.

"Where's Katniss?" I grinned, jumping up, and trying to get to the doors. "You should have woken me sooner. Then me and Katniss could have-" he grabbed my arm, his gaze falling to the floor. My body stiffened, as dread washed over me. "Haymitch," my throat began tightening, "Where is she?" He bit his lip, still looking downwards. "_WHERE IS SHE?!_" I had started shaking, and I thought I was about to break to pieces.

"I," he hesitated, "Well... She didn't get out in time." He didn't look up to meet my eyes. Katniss... She was dead. Gone. Poof. No... She couldn't be. There had to be a mistake. No. _No! _Before Haymitch could say any more, I sprinted out the door, knocking flasks and tubes of medicine off the shelves as I went. Most of them smashed on the floor, glittering like polished diamonds, with the result of various chemicals reacting and steaming together as I fled.

Many plain corridors connected to one another and I followed through them, taking random turns. I heard Haymitch shouting behind me, but I continued racing down the hall. I wanted to clear my head and not believe that she was gone. Confused, many people watched me. With all of my strength, I passed them hurriedly. My throat burned and my body began to ache; I couldn't go on any more. Exhausted, I lay against the wall, my back sliding down slowly as I did so. I didn't care that people were whispering and pointing at me. Hyperventilating, I let my body do whatever it wanted, tears streaking down my face, leaving lines of dampness. I didn't want to see the people around me. I didn't want to see anybody except Katniss. With my bloodshot eyes shut tight, and hidden between my legs, I used to my arms to cover the top of my head. I wouldn't look at anyone. I allowed my body to go through another wave of shuddering, as my mentality crumbled into pieces.

Defeated, I began to howl in despair. "_WHYYYYY?!_" I sobbed, "_OHHHHH GOD, WHY DID YOU LEAVE MEEEEE?!_" Somehow I had fallen sideways and lay on the floor. Something was digging into my thigh. Momentarily, my hysterical crying came to a stop, but I was still shaking. I pulled a petite glass tube from my trousers pocket and inspected it. It must have fallen into my clothing when I knocked things off the shelves on my way out of the hospital ward. A tiny pill sat inside, with a label reading: '**NIGHTLOCK-W****ARNING, KILLS WITHIN 5 MINUTES OF CONSUMING, ONLY USE IN CASES OF BEING CAPTURED BY ENEMY**'

A cruel smile played on my lips as I remembered that Nightlock was the name of the poisonous berries from the first time Katniss and I were in the arena. I thought of the moments just before we won...

_She goes through her belt and tries to get out a small, brown bag. I know that inside are those deadly, dark berries. Grabbing her wrist, I say, "No, I won't let you." She can't. I won't allow her. If she's gone, I won't be able to live without her._

_"Trust me," she whispers. And I do. I look into her beautiful, grey eyes for a while, seeing the intelligence and ferocity of the girl I'm willing to trade my life for, if it saves hers. The girl who would pounce on dandelions excitedly, blowing them with faith that her wishes would come true. The girl with an angel's voice when she sings. The exact same girl that I gave the bread to all those years ago. I regret not being able to have done more for her. I can trust her. I slowly let go, as she reaches in the bag and pulls out one handful of the Nightlock. She pours half into my hand and leaves the rest in hers. Understanding dawns upon me. "On the count of three?" she asks._

_I nod. "The count of three," I repeat. We lean our backs against each other and I can feel her nervousness. "Hold them out," I tell her, "I want everyone to see." It was wishful thinking, but I figure that if there is no victor, then the Hunger Games would be forced to be unable to continue for future generations. She holds my hand tightly. Is it a signal? Is she scared? Maybe it is a goodbye. I silently say my farewells to her. With a final glance of the world, I start counting. "One." At least we're together. "Two." I love you. "Three!" See you on the other side._

Without thinking, I pulled the lid of the tube off, and placed the Nightlock pill in my hand, the same way I did with the berries. "The count of three," I laughed bitterly. "One." I will join you. "Two." We will finally be together and the pain will go away. "Three." I swallowed the pill as the tears raged on. I felt tortured and I was suffering.

I expected my body to violently convulse, and it did. I thrashed about uncontrollably on the ground in spasms. The thought that I would probably soon be peacefully laying on the floor comforted me a little. I hoped there was a heaven. If there was, we would soon be reunited. Why did she have to die? We could have been happy together. We would have had a future. The pain I felt on the outside was nothing compared to my hidden scars on the inside

My blurry eyes noticed the fuzzy outline of human shapes coming towards me. I heard a familiar voice calling my name, but I didn't want to see or hear any more. I detached myself from reality and imagined Katniss. She was in heaven now, with large wings flowing from her body. They were the same deep shade of grey as her eyes, and swung up and down gracefully, but strongly, like her personality. She was an angel. My angel. And she was smiling and waiting for me. The exact same last thought popped into my head now as what I thought would be my last moments with Katniss in the arena. I murmured the phrase out loud.

"_See you on the other side."_

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	2. Misfortunate Memories

**I don't own The Hunger Games!**

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_Previous chapter: She was an angel. My angel. And she was smiling and waiting for me. The exact same last thought popped into my head now as what I thought would be my last moments with Katniss in the arena. I murmured the phrase out loud._

_"See you on the other side."_

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_CHAPTER TWO: MISFORTUNATE MEMORIES_

_Katniss's POV_

It had been a week since I had been here. After the explosion in the games, one of the Capitol's hover crafts came and picked me up. Since then, I had been trapped, and they had kept me in a large room. I felt like I was in a dungeon, except everything was actually quite fancy. I had my own bathroom, but it was in the same room. I even had my own King sized bed. Not saying I enjoyed it... just that it was rather luxurious. The walls had mirrors covering every side and corner of the room.

They wouldn't break; they wouldn't smash. Trust me, I tried many times. I was convinced that everybody I loved were dead, but there was still the slightest chance that they were alive, and I held onto that hope with my life. If I got out of here, I had decided that I would do all I could to protect them. I didn't care about myself. Others were more important.

Bored, I drummed my fingers against the wall, my reflection gazing back at me. My face was clear and my body had no bruising or cuts. Not even a scratch. When I first woke up here, after the explosion I caused in the Quarter Quell, I was covered in them. Capitol technology really never fails to amaze me.

It must have been about a week since I'd been trapped. Well, I couldn't be sure, since there were no clocks or windows. However, I had been judging time by how often I got tired and slept. There was a routine of me receiving three meals a day. Speaking of which, I was getting a bit hungry. A few times a day, before I could get too starved, a girl about my age would come in quietly, with some food for me.

Just as I was thinking of her, she came in, sliding the mirror wall aside. She had short brown hair that framed her face, and wore a simple white shirt with white trousers, attached tightly to her, giving off a skeleton look. Honestly, she appeared like a walking corpse. Everything seemed dead about her. Her young face dragged down and she moved slowly, like a crippled hag. However, her green eyes were alive, flitting around the room, full of emotions I would never know of, but never meeting mine.

We both just ignored each other usually, but something was strange about her. She didn't seem like she was Capitol born, judging by her plain appearance. This time, I decided to try talking.

"Hello," I started. Flinching, she took a step back. She fidgeted for a while, pushing a trolley of food into the room. Finally composed, she gave an awkward nod in my general direction. Not really sure what else to say, I added, "My name is Katniss." There was a long pause. "...What's yours?" Coughing, she slowly looked up at me. It sounded more like a choke really. She tried to swallow, but I could tell she was having difficulty.

And then realisation hit me. "Oh, you're an avox." It slipped out, without me realising how rude that might sound. Oh well. I was never one much known for having good manners, but I didn't really want to insult the only person who could probably help me escape. Nervously, I twisted the bronze mockingjay that was still pinned on me. I had been doing this a lot lately.

Her green eyes settled and finally met mine; they were not offended, but filled with sympathy instead. The same gut wrenching feeling I had when I first woke up here filled me. Yet again, I became desperate. "Please," I begged, "You have to help me. I have to get back to my family. I need to find Peeta. I promised myself that I would protect him. They're all waiting for me. I can't still be missing." Quivering, I whispered, "They might think I'm dead." Shaking her head, she took another look around the room.

Oh. Of course. There must have been cameras or something watching us. Ever since I was 12 and I went to my first reaping, I have always felt like I was being watched. I could never be safe.

Whilst the avox girl removed my food from the trolley, I pretended to sulk and sauntered towards the other direction. Hopeful, I swiftly slid out of the door. I found myself in another room filled with mirrors identical to mine, but empty of furniture.

"Crap," I muttered, searching for another door. Distracted, I didn't notice anybody come behind me. It was an instant before I felt the grim hand on my shoulder that I noticed something was wrong. Blood. Roses. I could smell the vile, pungent scent of blood and roses, and then the hand came upon me. Rigidly, I turned around to see the cruel, yet calm face of President Snow.

"Hello there, dear."

Taking a deep breath, I replied in the biggest voice I could get out, "Are you going to kill me?" It came out more normal than I expected, and I gave myself a mental tap on the back for my good work.

"Why in such a rush?" he chuckled. He was toying with me, and I had already started to lose my patience.

"Well if I'm going to die, I'd rather know about it."

"Oh, I'm not going to kill you Katniss," he sneered. "Not yet anyway."

"Then what do you want?" I snapped. Enjoying my impatience, he smiled.

"Just to talk." He gestured towards my old room, implying for me to go back inside. My mind was screaming at me to run. To not obey this man. Reluctantly, I dragged myself back into my prison, forcing my feet to go forwards. Snow led me to the far corner, where a small, round table was, with 2 stools beside it. He took a seat in one and nodded towards the other.

Glaring at him, I sat on the opposite stool, and gave him my deadliest stare. The avox girl rushed over, setting some tea and snacks in front of us. Weary, I twisted my mockingjay pin between my fingers. It had become a nervous habit of mine lately.

"Help yourself," Snow said, pushing the tea towards me.

"No thanks," I muttered.

"I highly recommend you drink it, Miss. Everdeen." He paused, and then smirked to himself. "Or should I be calling you Mrs. Mellark now?" he chuckled. How could he do this? How could he be so cruel? Even after capturing me, he still taunted me. What was the point of it all? After all of the effort of marrying Peeta to try and satisfy this man, and convince everyone that I was in love, it still wasn't enough for him. Nothing would be enough to please him.

"And what if I refuse to drink?" I asked, daringly.

Displeased with me, he took a sip before answering. "Peeta is still alive, you know." My breath hitched, as I processed this. He was alive. _Alive!_ All I had to do was make it back, and then I could look after him. We would be safe, and- "For now," he added, interrupting my thoughts._ Great._ Peeta's life was being threatened over me drinking tea. This was ridiculous. Lifting up the cup, without hesitation, I downed it in a few seconds. I could feel the bitter liquid running down my throat.

I blinked a few times, as I got a bit light headed. My vision was blurring, and I started to see two of everything. Inside my pocket, my fingers wrapped tightly around the pearl Peeta had given me during the Quarter Quell. My other hand clutched desperately on my mockingjay pin. They comforted me, being the only supports I had.

"What a pretty pin," he observed, as I tried to hang onto reality. I didn't say anything. Those were the same words he had told me when I was crowned as Victor for the first time I went into the Hunger Games. "What type of bird is it?"

"A mockingjay..." I drawled. Forcing myself to look up, I saw two President Snows spinning around my head. Quickly, it blurred into nothing and I could only see blankness.

"How interesting," he stated. It echoed in my head over and over again, overlapping with everything he said. "Katniss?" I didn't say anything. "Katniss?" he repeated. I refused to just be a part of his games. Then I sensed doors opening and heard a few other confusing voices.

"President, has the venom taken full effect on her yet?" a gruff man questioned.

"I think so. She's not answering. Katniss?" Paranoia leaked it's way into me, but I refused to give in. I wouldn't answer. I wouldn't. I _couldn't._

"Subject ready for memory deletion," a middle aged woman's voice said. I forced myself to remain calm. It was pretty hard considering I couldn't see anything, and my hearing was very fuzzy.

"A lot of people say that you're very much like a mockingjay, Katniss," Snow murmured. He didn't think I could hear, and I knew I was about to black out. "I guess you are a mockingjay. Some people even call you _The _Mockingjay." I decided to give myself just one victory - no matter how minor it may seem. Squinting, I managed to get one last glance of the President's shocked face, and gave an innocent smile, as I said my last words, a moment before I went into a heavy sleep.

"What a lovely title for me... _The__ imprisoned mockingjay."_

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	3. Hateful Handcuffs

**I don't own the Hunger Games.**

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_Previous chapter:_ _I decided to give myself just one victory - no matter how minor it may seem. Squinting, I managed to get one last glance of the President's shocked face, and gave an innocent smile, as I said my last words, a moment before I went into a heavy sleep._

_"What a lovely title for me... The imprisoned mockingjay."_

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_CHAPTER THREE: HATEFUL HANDCUFFS_

_Peeta's POV_

"Hey, look at this!" I laugh, holding up an oyster. I crack it open to reveal a perfectly pea sized pearl, shining with moisture in the sunlight. Showing it off, I turn to Finnick. "You know, if you put enough pressure on coal it turns to pearls." Katniss cracks up into a hysterical laugh, remembering how Effie used to believe this and would go around clueless, telling that to our sponsors.

"No, it doesn't," Finnick replys dismissively, not understanding the inside joke. This makes Katniss laugh even harder. The sound of her is simply beautiful. The noises of an angel. I rinse off the pearl in water, and hand it to her.

"For you," I say, as she closes her fist around it.

"Thanks." The single word held a lot of meaning inside of it.

Thanks for the pearl.

Thanks for this final gift.

Thanks for being here.

Thanks for loving me.

She looks into my eyes, and I gaze back into her intense grey ones. I know what she's thinking, as the happiness drains from her orbs. She's thinking about how she will protect me and make sure I win. Unfortunately for her, I too have promised myself that she will be the one leaving the arena. I will defeat her plan, keeping her alive, even at my own expense.

Although she is thinking about such a depressing thing, she still is beautiful. Her hair is free, blowing behind her in divine curly locks, covering parts of her stunning eyes, so full of intelligence and heavenly attraction. Suddenly, her expression changes into one of suffering and paranoia. There are noises of howling and savage growling, whilst the picturesque atmosphere becomes murky and icily bitter. The same barbaric wolf muttations from the last Hunger Games barge against me and run straight for Katniss.

"No! Katniss! Run!" I screech, but I'm too late. They rip right into her, sparing nothing. Her screams of agony echo across the arena and I'm stuck. I can't move to get to her. I can't help.

"_Peeta!_" she cries, but I can't do anything. My ears are flooded with her nightmarish screams, warped by the sound of the ruthless monsters tearing her apart. I begin to hear President Snow powerfully laughing with cruelty. I can see the sadistic grin he must have right now.

"I'll kill you!" I howl at him, louder than the mutts. Blood spatters all around Katniss, seeping into the sand and dying it a deep, dark ruby. It spreads across the ground into the water, making it become an ocean of death. It turns so red that it becomes black with her blood. One mutt that is satisfied with it's meal strolls away into the trees, leaving red paw prints behind him in the clean sand.

"You didn't... Protect me," Katniss gasps, collapsing into a deep, bloody slumber that she will never wake up from.

"I'm so sorry," I bawl, "I'm so, so sorry..."

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"Peeta? Peeta! Are you okay? Peeta?"

"So sorry..." I murmur.

"Peeta!"

"Wha...?" The grotesque images of Katniss dying faded away and were replaced by the face of Delly Cartwright. She was an old childhood friend of mine back in District Twelve.

"Oh, you worried us all so much!" she scolded. "He's awake!" she shouted towards somebody outside. "You shouldn't have done that."

"I don't understa-" And then it all came flooding back to me. Katniss... Dead. _Gone._ I'd tried to die, but clearly I hadn't succeeded. For a moment, I had thought that I was in heaven and was finally reunited with her. However, the painful truth was that I was stuck in this reality without her. In my dream, her last words were that I didn't protect her. In actuality, those probably were her last words too. It was accurate; I wasn't able to protect her.

"You remember me, right Peeta?" I don't reply. I remain lying down, staring at the ceiling. "I'm Delly. Delly Cartwright. We used to play together when we were kids." Yes. I remembered her. However, I didn't want to hear anything. Without Katniss, I really didn't have any reason to live anymore. I could hear Delly talking, but I was no longer acknowledging her words.

Glancing a little to the side, I gazed at the shelves full of things. There were more little tubs of pills and medicines, but those weren't what I needed this time. They would be able to remove the pills from me again. My eyes trailed along the shelf, looking for something that would quickly do the job. Right there! There was a small knife, the kind used for surgeries. It wasn't much, but one quick slit to the throat would definitely kill me before anybody could stop me.

"And so, after that fire, your family didn't get out in time," Delly carried on talking quietly. I didn't care. My family and I never exactly had a 'loving' relationship. Now... the knife.

"Oh, my family?" I said, distracted, as I casually sat up slowly.

"Yes, I'm so sorry Peeta. But as I said, there are still lots of us here who love you," she babbled on. Whilst she was talking, I decided I would run for it. There were no other people in here. I would be quick. Swiftly, as I got up, I was suddenly restrained. Oh. Of course. No wonder I was left alone with Delly. "They had to handcuff you for your own protection," she added sadly. "I know it's silly. I had a big argument with them, telling them that you don't need 'protection', but they wouldn't listen to me." Closing my eyes, I leaned against the back of the bed.

"Delly..." I spoke to the darkness.

"Yes, Peeta?"

"Please..."

"What? What is it?"

"Kill me?" I asked calmly. She didn't reply, so I opened my eyes. Her face was distraught. "Please, Delly."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, and walked out of the room. Sighing, I close my eyes again. It was a pretty cheap shot.

"Now that was just cruel," I heard Haymitch say, but I didn't look at him. "I can't believe you've become so cowardly to the point that you would put somebody else to do your dirty work." Well, I couldn't exactly do anything whilst I was restrained, could I?

I refused to reply to him. I needed to show them all that there was no point in keeping me alive. I was a waste of space. "Not talking, eh?" Silence. "Fine. Have it your way."

After he left, I'm not sure how long I was alone for. It could have been hours. I had a plastic bracelet on my wrist, that classified me as 'mentally disorientated'. As I fidgeted with it, Haymitch came back in to the room.

"Come on, up you get," he mumbled, unlocking my chains and replacing them with another pair of handcuffs. Dragging me out of the room, he locked one on my wrist and one on his. Exhausted, I got dragged across lots of corridors by him. Most people stared, but I didn't know any of them so it didn't bother me. I was led into a large space full of people eating. He took us to an empty table and we sat down, without saying anything. Two bowels of some sort of stew were placed in front of us and Haymitch began eating straight away. I looked up to be met by the face of Gale.

"You couldn't protect her," he said quietly, sitting down with us. Resentful, I glared at him. It knew that it was my fault that Katniss had died, all because I couldn't protect her. It was my fault. "Don't get me wrong," Gale added. "I meant that you _couldn't _protect her. No matter what, the outcome would have been the same. Whether it was you or anybody else in that arena, she couldn't be saved. So don't feel bad about it." Even Gale pitied me now.

"Peeta, we all know that you don't want to be here, but you need to step up," Haymitch said, between mouthfuls of stew. What was he even on about? I didn't need to do anything. "Now that the Mockingjay is gone, the rebels need a new face." I gave him a questioning look.

"We can't just give up now," Gale said, staring directly at me. "We need to carry on fighting. For friends. Family. Next generations." He could see that I was dismissing the thought of helping out. I had no reason to, since I had nobody else to keep safe. "For Katniss." I felt my throat tightening, and my eyes were beginning to sting again. They knew that they were hitting a soft spot for me.

Haymitch added, "Katniss wouldn't have wanted you to just give up. She would want you to fight on." No. I refused to allow them to guilt trip me. There was no use in me doing anything if she was already dead.

"I told you. He's a stubborn, little selfish thing that only cares about himself," Haymitch muttered. As Gale opened his mouth to say something, the huge TVs began showing a broadcast from the Capitol.

"Take him out," Gale told Haymitch sternly. "Now. Take him." Squinting at one of the TVs, I saw President Snow's face appear. "Haymitch! Don't let him watch." What? Why couldn't I see what was going on? Haymitch covered my eyes and quickly dragged me out. Before he did, I heard President Snow say one thing from the speakers.

"I would like to make a deal with the rebels, regarding Katniss Everdeen."

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